Growth stalls. It happens. Revenue plateaus, operations hit friction, sales efforts yield diminishing returns. As leaders, we've all felt that pressure – the point where…
JohnMMay 16, 2025
Articles
Recently the Wall Street Journal’s Saturday “The Numbers” column was about the “M-Score.” The M-Score was created by business professors in the 1990s and the…
JohnMMay 31, 2023
“How many more questions is he going to ask?” said a business broker to me about a buyer doing thorough due diligence. My answer was…
JohnMJanuary 27, 2023
In October Jessica and I talked to about 20 people about what they’re seeing in the market, the highlights are below. I also attended the…
JohnMDecember 6, 2022
According to the Wall Street Journal (September 10, 2022), private equity does (want to buy your business). PE is reaching to the lower middle market…
JohnMSeptember 30, 2022
As I write this there are two fascinating M&A stories in the news, and they provide good lessons for buyers and sellers of lower middle…
JohnMAugust 8, 2022
The Next Step- Planning for Your Future I'm often asked, "What do you do besides help people buy businesses?" I reply "I also help business…
martinkaJune 28, 2022
What is a Business Buyer Advocate®? I’ve been asked by quite a few people for my thoughts on business valuations and deals during the COVID-19…
martinkaJune 28, 2022
John Martinka's 20 Rules of Business Exiting & Selling 1. Searching for a buyer is sales; it’s the same as when you prospect for…
martinkaJune 28, 2022
The Business Buy-Sell Quiz The most popular part of any talk I give is always the quiz questions. People love to give the right answer!…
martinkaJune 24, 2022
Job Search Red Flags = Business Buying Red Flags Sometimes topics just come my way and I can’t pass up the opportunity. In this case,…
martinkaJune 24, 2022
The Seven Deadly Sins of Business Buying Commit these sins when buying a business and you will either delay your trip to heaven (business ownership)…
martinkaJune 24, 2022
Exit with Style, Grace, and More Money The top questions business owners ask me (regarding the value and sale of their business) are: What’s my…
martinkaJune 24, 2022
Business Buying and Selling – It’s Not Like a Rube Goldberg Contraption There’s an incredible YouTube video from the band OK GO for their song…
martinkaJune 24, 2022
Remember the Golden Rule! Whoever has the gold, makes the rules! The banks have the money, the banks make the rules, and the rules are…
martinkaJune 23, 2022
AAA Not the Rescue In the world of privately held businesses it is common that the owner's goal is to pay as little tax as…
martinkaJune 23, 2022
The Value of the Owner to the Business’s Value Every so often I hear the statement, "the business is so well run you can hire…
martinkaJune 23, 2022
The Business Buy-Sell Financing Maze Unless the seller prefers to finance a huge portion of the purchase price versus getting up to 90% in cash…
martinkaJune 23, 2022
Non-Financial Factors The Most Important Questions Neal started and ran his company for 17 years, then sold it, and stayed on with a five-year management…
martinkaJune 23, 2022
